Cases Of Rare Disorder Skyrocket In New Jersey

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - NORTHEAST

February 27, 1996

TRENTON, N.J. — Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can cause sudden paralysis, has struck with unusual frequency in one New Jersey county, temporarily crippling eight people since December. The cluster of cases in Bergen County, a New York City suburb, has perplexed health officials and doctors who say the syndrome is neither contagious nor infectious. The patients range in age from 6 to 59, and doctors have not found any common infection or medical or environmental circumstances that set off their illnesses.